HR: 08:20h
AN: SA41A-02 INVITED [WITHDRAWN]    [Abstracts]
TI: Global Effects of Subauroral Electric Fields on the Thermosphere
AU: * Anderson, P C
EM: phillip.anderson1@utdallas.edu
AF: University of Texas at Dallas, Box 830688 WT15, Richardson, TX 75083, United States
AU: Crowley, G
EM: gcrowley@astraspace.net
AF: Atmospheric & Space Technology Research Associates, 12703 Spectrum Dr. Suite 101, San Antonio, TX 78249, United States
AU: Johnston, W R
EM: wrj041000@utdallas.edu
AF: University of Texas at Dallas, Box 830688 WT15, Richardson, TX 75083, United States
AB: Ionospheric electric fields can have profound effects on the thermospheric composition and winds, particularly during geomagnetic activity. They influence numerous processes in the ionosphere/thermosphere (IT) system including plasma transport in the ionosphere, the ion drag force which affects neutral winds, and the Joule heating which drives much of the composition and structure of the IT system. They can extend to very low latitudes and can contribute substantially to the magnetospheric electric field structure, particularly during geomagnetic storms. Modelers have begun to understand the importance of the subauroral electric field coupling to the thermosphere, the inner magnetosphere and the plasmasphere and efforts to incorporate recent results are currently underway. We are examining the effect of the subauroral electric fields on IT coupling using an empirical model of the subauroral electric fields derived from data acquired by several low-Earth orbiting (LEO) spacecraft. The results are being incorporated into the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIME-GCM) to examine the global effects of the subauroral electric fields on the thermospheric structure. We will show our initial results, comparing the global thermospheric structure derived from TIME-GCM for a geomagnetic storm using a strictly high-latitude electric field model with thermospheric structure derived using an electric field model incorporating the subauroral electric field.
DE: 0358 Thermosphere: energy deposition (3369)
DE: 2411 Electric fields (2712)
DE: 2427 Ionosphere/atmosphere interactions (0335)
DE: 2441 Ionospheric storms (7949)
SC: SPA-Aeronomy [SA]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly